Biblical references to cubits

How to make altars, arks, temples, and boats: The ancient measure of the cubit appears often in the Old Testament; usually as construction advice; for altars, arks and temples, and boats. Before the Old Testament was written, the builders of the pyramids used cubits. Cubits could vary; for example Egypt, the "Royal Cubit", the non-Royal Cubits. Then an individual mason - a temple builder, as chief architect - might set a personal cubit.




An example of a cubit ruler

Example of cubits in the Old Testament:

Genesis 6:15 - And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.

Genesis 6:16 - A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.

Genesis 7:20 - Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered.

Exodus 25:10 - And they shall make an ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof.

Exodus 25:17 - And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof.

Exodus 25:23 - Thou shalt also make a table of shittim wood: two cubits shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof.

Exodus 26:2 - The length of one curtain shall be eight and twenty cubits, and the breadth of one curtain four cubits: and every one of the curtains shall have one measure.

Exodus 26:8 - The length of one curtain shall be thirty cubits, and the breadth of one curtain four cubits: and the eleven curtains shall be all of one measure.

Exodus 26:13 - And a cubit on the one side, and a cubit on the other side of that which remaineth in the length of the curtains of the tent, it shall hang over the sides of the tabernacle on this side and on that side, to cover it.

Exodus 26:16 - Ten cubits shall be the length of a board, and a cubit and a half shall be the breadth of one board.

Exodus 27:1 - And thou shalt make an altar of shittim wood, five cubits long, and five cubits broad; the altar shall be foursquare: and the height thereof shall be three cubits.

Exodus 27:9 - And thou shalt make the court of the tabernacle: for the south side southward there shall be hangings for the court of fine twined linen of an hundred cubits long for one side:

Exodus 27:11 - And likewise for the north side in length there shall be hangings of an hundred cubits long, and his twenty pillars and their twenty sockets of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver.

Exodus 27:12 - And for the breadth of the court on the west side shall be hangings of fifty cubits: their pillars ten, and their sockets ten.

Exodus 27:13 - And the breadth of the court on the east side eastward shall be fifty cubits.

Exodus 27:14 - The hangings of one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits: their pillars three, and their sockets three.

Exodus 27:15 - And on the other side shall be hangings fifteen cubits: their pillars three, and their sockets three.

Exodus 27:16 - And for the gate of the court shall be an hanging of twenty cubits, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needlework: and their pillars shall be four, and their sockets four.

Exodus 27:18 - The length of the court shall be an hundred cubits, and the breadth fifty every where, and the height five cubits of fine twined linen, and their sockets of brass.

Exodus 30:2 - A cubit shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof; foursquare shall it be: and two cubits shall be the height thereof: the horns thereof shall be of the same.

Exodus 36:9 - The length of one curtain was twenty and eight cubits, and the breadth of one curtain four cubits: the curtains were all of one size.

Exodus 36:15 - The length of one curtain was thirty cubits, and four cubits was the breadth of one curtain: the eleven curtains were of one size.

Exodus 36:21 - The length of a board was ten cubits, and the breadth of a board one cubit and a half.

Exodus 37:1 - And Bezaleel made the ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half was the length of it, and a cubit and a half the breadth of it, and a cubit and a half the height of it:

Exodus 37:6 - And he made the mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half was the length thereof, and one cubit and a half the breadth thereof.

Exodus 37:10 - And he made the table of shittim wood: two cubits was the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof:

Exodus 37:25 - And he made the incense altar of shittim wood: the length of it was a cubit, and the breadth of it a cubit; it was foursquare; and two cubits was the height of it; the horns thereof were of the same.

Exodus 38:1 - And he made the altar of burnt offering of shittim wood: five cubits was the length thereof, and five cubits the breadth thereof; it was foursquare; and three cubits the height thereof.

Exodus 38:9 - And he made the court: on the south side southward the hangings of the court were of fine twined linen, an hundred cubits:

Exodus 38:11 - And for the north side the hangings were an hundred cubits, their pillars were twenty, and their sockets of brass twenty; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver.

Exodus 38:12 - And for the west side were hangings of fifty cubits, their pillars ten, and their sockets ten; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver.

Exodus 38:13 - And for the east side eastward fifty cubits.

Exodus 38:14 - The hangings of the one side of the gate were fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three.

Exodus 38:15 - And for the other side of the court gate, on this hand and that hand, were hangings of fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three.

Exodus 38:18 - And the hanging for the gate of the court was needlework, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen: and twenty cubits was the length, and the height in the breadth was five cubits, answerable to the hangings of the court.

Numbers 11:31 - And there went forth a wind from the LORD, and brought quails from the sea, and let them fall by the camp, as it were a day's journey on this side, and as it were a day's journey on the other side, round about the camp, and as it were two cubits high upon the face of the earth.

Numbers 35:4 - And the suburbs of the cities, which ye shall give unto the Levites, shall reach from the wall of the city and outward a thousand cubits round about.

Numbers 35:5 - And ye shall measure from without the city on the east side two thousand cubits, and on the south side two thousand cubits, and on the west side two thousand cubits, and on the north side two thousand cubits; and the city shall be in the midst: this shall be to them the suburbs of the cities.

Deuteronomy 3:11 - For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of giants; behold his bedstead was a bedstead of iron; is it not in Rabbath of the children of Ammon? nine cubits was the length thereof, and four cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of a man.

Joshua 3:4 - Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go: for ye have not passed this way heretofore.

Judges 3:16 - But Ehud made him a dagger which had two edges, of a cubit length; and he did gird it under his raiment upon his right thigh.

1 Samuel 17:4 - And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.

1 Kings 6:2 - And the house which king Solomon built for the LORD, the length thereof was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits.

1 Kings 6:3 - And the porch before the temple of the house, twenty cubits was the length thereof, according to the breadth of the house; and ten cubits was the breadth thereof before the house.

1 Kings 6:6 - The nethermost chamber was five cubits broad, and the middle was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad: for without in the wall of the house he made narrowed rests round about, that the beams should not be fastened in the walls of the house.

1 Kings 6:10 - And then he built chambers against all the house, five cubits high: and they rested on the house with timber of cedar.

1 Kings 6:16 - And he built twenty cubits on the sides of the house, both the floor and the walls with boards of cedar: he even built them for it within, even for the oracle, even for the most holy place.

1 Kings 6:17 - And the house, that is, the temple before it, was forty cubits long.

1 Kings 6:20 - And the oracle in the forepart was twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and twenty cubits in the height thereof: and he overlaid it with pure gold; and so covered the altar which was of cedar.

1 Kings 6:23 - And within the oracle he made two cherubims of olive tree, each ten cubits high.

1 Kings 6:24 - And five cubits was the one wing of the cherub, and five cubits the other wing of the cherub: from the uttermost part of the one wing unto the uttermost part of the other were ten cubits.

1 Kings 6:25 - And the other cherub was ten cubits: both the cherubims were of one measure and one size.

1 Kings 6:26 - The height of the one cherub was ten cubits, and so was it of the other cherub.

1 Kings 7:2 - He built also the house of the forest of Lebanon; the length thereof was an hundred cubits, and the breadth thereof fifty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits, upon four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams upon the pillars.

1 Kings 7:6 - And he made a porch of pillars; the length thereof was fifty cubits, and the breadth thereof thirty cubits: and the porch was before them: and the other pillars and the thick beam were before them.

1 Kings 7:10 - And the foundation was of costly stones, even great stones, stones of ten cubits, and stones of eight cubits.

1 Kings 7:15 - For he cast two pillars of brass, of eighteen cubits high apiece: and a line of twelve cubits did compass either of them about.

1 Kings 7:16 - And he made two chapiters of molten brass, to set upon the tops of the pillars: the height of the one chapiter was five cubits, and the height of the other chapiter was five cubits:

1 Kings 7:19 - And the chapiters that were upon the top of the pillars were of lily work in the porch, four cubits.

1 Kings 7:23 - And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other: it was round all about, and his height was five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about.

1 Kings 7:24 - And under the brim of it round about there were knops compassing it, ten in a cubit, compassing the sea round about: the knops were cast in two rows, when it was cast.

1 Kings 7:27 - And he made ten bases of brass; four cubits was the length of one base, and four cubits the breadth thereof, and three cubits the height of it.

1 Kings 7:31 - And the mouth of it within the chapiter and above was a cubit: but the mouth thereof was round after the work of the base, a cubit and an half: and also upon the mouth of it were gravings with their borders, foursquare, not round.

1 Kings 7:32 - And under the borders were four wheels; and the axletrees of the wheels were joined to the base: and the height of a wheel was a cubit and half a cubit.

1 Kings 7:35 - And in the top of the base was there a round compass of half a cubit high: and on the top of the base the ledges thereof and the borders thereof were of the same.

1 Kings 7:38 - Then made he ten lavers of brass: one laver contained forty baths: and every laver was four cubits: and upon every one of the ten bases one laver.

2 Kings 14:13 - And Jehoash king of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Jehoash the son of Ahaziah, at Bethshemesh, and came to Jerusalem, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim unto the corner gate, four hundred cubits.

2 Kings 25:17 - The height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits, and the chapiter upon it was brass: and the height of the chapiter three cubits; and the wreathen work, and pomegranates upon the chapiter round about, all of brass: and like unto these had the second pillar with wreathen work.

1 Chronicles 11:23 - And he slew an Egyptian, a man of great stature, five cubits high; and in the Egyptian's hand was a spear like a weaver's beam; and he went down to him with a staff, and plucked the spear out of the Egyptian's hand, and slew him with his own spear.

2 Chronicles 3:4 - And the porch that was in the front of the house, the length of it was according to the breadth of the house, twenty cubits, and the height was an hundred and twenty: and he overlaid it within with pure gold.

2 Chronicles 3:8 - And he made the most holy house, the length whereof was according to the breadth of the house, twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits: and he overlaid it with fine gold, amounting to six hundred talents.

2 Chronicles 3:11 - And the wings of the cherubims were twenty cubits long: one wing of the one cherub was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house: and the other wing was likewise five cubits, reaching to the wing of the other cherub.

2 Chronicles 3:12 - And one wing of the other cherub was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house: and the other wing was five cubits also, joining to the wing of the other cherub.

2 Chronicles 3:13 - The wings of these cherubims spread themselves forth twenty cubits: and they stood on their feet, and their faces were inward.

2 Chronicles 3:15 - Also he made before the house two pillars of thirty and five cubits high, and the chapiter that was on the top of each of them was five cubits.

2 Chronicles 4:1 - Moreover he made an altar of brass, twenty cubits the length thereof, and twenty cubits the breadth thereof, and ten cubits the height thereof.

2 Chronicles 4:2 - Also he made a molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim, round in compass, and five cubits the height thereof; and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about.

2 Chronicles 4:3 - And under it was the similitude of oxen, which did compass it round about: ten in a cubit, compassing the sea round about. Two rows of oxen were cast, when it was cast.

2 Chronicles 6:13 - For Solomon had made a brasen scaffold of five cubits long, and five cubits broad, and three cubits high, and had set it in the midst of the court: and upon it he stood, and kneeled down upon his knees before all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven.

2 Chronicles 25:23 - And Joash the king of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash, the son of Jehoahaz, at Bethshemesh, and brought him to Jerusalem, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim to the corner gate, four hundred cubits.

Ezra 6:3 - In the first year of Cyrus the king the same Cyrus the king made a decree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, Let the house be builded, the place where they offered sacrifices, and let the foundations thereof be strongly laid; the height thereof threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof threescore cubits;

Nehemiah 3:13 - The valley gate repaired Hanun, and the inhabitants of Zanoah; they built it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof, and a thousand cubits on the wall unto the dung gate.

Esther 5:14 - Then said Zeresh his wife and all his friends unto him, Let a gallows be made of fifty cubits high, and to morrow speak thou unto the king that Mordecai may be hanged thereon: then go thou in merrily with the king unto the banquet. And the thing pleased Haman; and he caused the gallows to be made.

Esther 7:9 - And Harbonah, one of the chamberlains, said before the king, Behold also, the gallows fifty cubits high, which Haman had made for Mordecai, who spoken good for the king, standeth in the house of Haman. Then the king said, Hang him thereon.

Jeremiah 52:21 - And concerning the pillars, the height of one pillar was eighteen cubits; and a fillet of twelve cubits did compass it; and the thickness thereof was four fingers: it was hollow.

Jeremiah 52:22 - And a chapiter of brass was upon it; and the height of one chapiter was five cubits, with network and pomegranates upon the chapiters round about, all of brass. The second pillar also and the pomegranates were like unto these.

Ezekiel 40:5 - And behold a wall on the outside of the house round about, and in the man's hand a measuring reed of six cubits long by the cubit and an hand breadth: so he measured the breadth of the building, one reed; and the height, one reed.

Ezekiel 40:7 - And every little chamber was one reed long, and one reed broad; and between the little chambers were five cubits; and the threshold of the gate by the porch of the gate within was one reed.

Ezekiel 40:9 - Then measured he the porch of the gate, eight cubits; and the posts thereof, two cubits; and the porch of the gate was inward.

Ezekiel 40:11 - And he measured the breadth of the entry of the gate, ten cubits; and the length of the gate, thirteen cubits.

Ezekiel 40:12 - The space also before the little chambers was one cubit on this side, and the space was one cubit on that side: and the little chambers were six cubits on this side, and six cubits on that side.

Ezekiel 40:13 - He measured then the gate from the roof of one little chamber to the roof of another: the breadth was five and twenty cubits, door against door.

Ezekiel 40:14 - He made also posts of threescore cubits, even unto the post of the court round about the gate.

Ezekiel 40:15 - And from the face of the gate of the entrance unto the face of the porch of the inner gate were fifty cubits.

Ezekiel 40:19 - Then he measured the breadth from the forefront of the lower gate unto the forefront of the inner court without, an hundred cubits eastward and northward.

Ezekiel 40:21 - And the little chambers thereof were three on this side and three on that side; and the posts thereof and the arches thereof were after the measure of the first gate: the length thereof was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits.

Ezekiel 40:23 - And the gate of the inner court was over against the gate toward the north, and toward the east; and he measured from gate to gate an hundred cubits.

Ezekiel 40:25 - And there were windows in it and in the arches thereof round about, like those windows: the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits.

Ezekiel 40:27 - And there was a gate in the inner court toward the south: and he measured from gate to gate toward the south an hundred cubits.

Ezekiel 40:29 - And the little chambers thereof, and the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, according to these measures: and there were windows in it and in the arches thereof round about: it was fifty cubits long, and five and twenty cubits broad.

Ezekiel 40:30 - And the arches round about were five and twenty cubits long, and five cubits broad.

Ezekiel 40:33 - And the little chambers thereof, and the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, were according to these measures: and there were windows therein and in the arches thereof round about: it was fifty cubits long, and five and twenty cubits broad.

Ezekiel 40:36 - The little chambers thereof, the posts thereof, and the arches thereof, and the windows to it round about: the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth five and twenty cubits.

Ezekiel 40:42 - And the four tables were of hewn stone for the burnt offering, of a cubit and an half long, and a cubit and an half broad, and one cubit high: whereupon also they laid the instruments wherewith they slew the burnt offering and the sacrifice.

Ezekiel 40:47 - So he measured the court, an hundred cubits long, and an hundred cubits broad, foursquare; and the altar that was before the house.

Ezekiel 40:48 - And he brought me to the porch of the house, and measured each post of the porch, five cubits on this side, and five cubits on that side: and the breadth of the gate was three cubits on this side, and three cubits on that side.

Ezekiel 40:49 - The length of the porch was twenty cubits, and the breadth eleven cubits, and he brought me by the steps whereby they went up to it: and there were pillars by the posts, one on this side, and another on that side.

Ezekiel 41:1 - Afterward he brought me to the temple, and measured the posts, six cubits broad on the one side, and six cubits broad on the other side, which was the breadth of the tabernacle.

Ezekiel 41:2 - And the breadth of the door was ten cubits; and the sides of the door were five cubits on the one side, and five cubits on the other side: and he measured the length thereof, forty cubits: and the breadth, twenty cubits.

Ezekiel 41:3 - Then went he inward, and measured the post of the door, two cubits; and the door, six cubits; and the breadth of the door, seven cubits.

Ezekiel 41:4 - So he measured the length thereof, twenty cubits; and the breadth, twenty cubits, before the temple: and he said unto me, This is the most holy place.

Ezekiel 41:5 - After he measured the wall of the house, six cubits; and the breadth of every side chamber, four cubits, round about the house on every side.

Ezekiel 41:8 - I saw also the height of the house round about: the foundations of the side chambers were a full reed of six great cubits.

Ezekiel 41:9 - The thickness of the wall, which was for the side chamber without, was five cubits: and that which was left was the place of the side chambers that were within.

Ezekiel 41:10 - And between the chambers was the wideness of twenty cubits round about the house on every side.

Ezekiel 41:11 - And the doors of the side chambers were toward the place that was left, one door toward the north, and another door toward the south: and the breadth of the place that was left was five cubits round about.

Ezekiel 41:12 - Now the building that was before the separate place at the end toward the west was seventy cubits broad; and the wall of the building was five cubits thick round about, and the length thereof ninety cubits.

Ezekiel 41:13 - So he measured the house, an hundred cubits long; and the separate place, and the building, with the walls thereof, an hundred cubits long;

Ezekiel 41:14 - Also the breadth of the face of the house, and of the separate place toward the east, an hundred cubits.

Ezekiel 41:15 - And he measured the length of the building over against the separate place which was behind it, and the galleries thereof on the one side and on the other side, an hundred cubits, with the inner temple, and the porches of the court;

Ezekiel 41:22 - The altar of wood was three cubits high, and the length thereof two cubits; and the corners thereof, and the length thereof, and the walls thereof, were of wood: and he said unto me, This is the table that is before the LORD.

Ezekiel 42:2 - Before the length of an hundred cubits was the north door, and the breadth was fifty cubits.

Ezekiel 42:3 - Over against the twenty cubits which were for the inner court, and over against the pavement which was for the utter court, was gallery against gallery in three stories.

Ezekiel 42:4 - And before the chambers was a walk to ten cubits breadth inward, a way of one cubit; and their doors toward the north.

Ezekiel 42:7 - And the wall that was without over against the chambers, toward the utter court on the forepart of the chambers, the length thereof was fifty cubits.

Ezekiel 42:8 - For the length of the chambers that were in the utter court was fifty cubits: and, lo, before the temple were an hundred cubits.

Ezekiel 43:13 - And these are the measures of the altar after the cubits: The cubit is a cubit and an hand breadth; even the bottom shall be a cubit, and the breadth a cubit, and the border thereof by the edge thereof round about shall be a span: and this shall be the higher place of the altar.

Ezekiel 43:14 - And from the bottom upon the ground even to the lower settle shall be two cubits, and the breadth one cubit; and from the lesser settle even to the greater settle shall be four cubits, and the breadth one cubit.

Ezekiel 43:15 - So the altar shall be four cubits; and from the altar and upward shall be four horns.

Ezekiel 43:16 - And the altar shall be twelve cubits long, twelve broad, square in the four squares thereof.

Ezekiel 43:17 - And the settle shall be fourteen cubits long and fourteen broad in the four squares thereof; and the border about it shall be half a cubit; and the bottom thereof shall be a cubit about; and his stairs shall look toward the east.

Ezekiel 45:2 - Of this there shall be for the sanctuary five hundred in length, with five hundred in breadth, square round about; and fifty cubits round about for the suburbs thereof.

Ezekiel 46:22 - In the four corners of the court there were courts joined of forty cubits long and thirty broad: these four corners were of one measure.

Ezekiel 47:3 - And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ankles.

Daniel 3:1 - Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.

Zechariah 5:2 - And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I answered, I see a flying roll; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits.

Matthew 6:27 - Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

Luke 12:25 - And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit?

John 21:8 - And the other disciples came in a little ship; (for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits,) dragging the net with fishes.

Revelation 21:17 - And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.

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